Jelly Roll Cake
What I love about this jelly roll cake is that it starts with a boxed cake mix, so when you are pressed for time, you can still whip up a nice dessert in a flash. I usually have a cake mix in my pantry and so if the need arises for a fancy “ish” dessert with not a lot of advance notice, this cake fits the bill perfectly. It doesn’t require a lot of fancy ingredients, you can use what you have on hand for the filling or get fancy if you like. Jam and whipped cream are perfect. No whipping cream? No worries, just fill it with your favorite jam and sprinkle with some powdered sugar for a simple, yet tasty cake that will still impress.
If you’ve ever wanted to make a jelly roll cake but felt a little intimidated—don’t worry, I’ve got you! This version starts with a boxed cake mix, so it’s super simple, but still delivers that wow factor when you slice into it. Light, fluffy, and filled with your favorite jam or jelly. Let’s roll!
What You’ll Need for the Jelly Roll Cake:
- 1 box white or yellow cake mix
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup of room temperature water
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
- 3/4 to 1 cup of your favorite jam, jelly, or preserves (strawberry, raspberry, or apricot are great!). You can make your own if you like. See my strawberry preserves recipe here.
- A clean kitchen towel
- Sheet pan (jelly roll pan) – about 10x15x1inches
Directions:
- Prep & Bake
Preheat your oven to 375°F
Spray your jelly roll pan with cooking spray, then line it with parchment paper. Push the parchment paper all the way down and into the corners so that you get good edges. - In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or and hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer) add 6 room temperature eggs and whip them on med-high (speed 6 on my kitchenaid) for 6 minutes until they are pale and fluffy.
- Add the boxed cake mix, water and oil and mix on 3 for 30 seconds, once combined turn up the speed to 6 again and beat for a further 1 minutes.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the top springs back lightly when touched. - While the cake is baking in the oven, lay out a lint-free tea-towel (the thin kind) on the counter and generously sprinkle it with powdered sugar (not too thick but cover the area that the cake will sit on.
- Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and carefully flip it out onto the prepared tea towel and then gently remove the parchment paper being careful not to peel off any cake. Then
start rolling the cake up IN the tea towel from one short end to the other, being careful not to crack the cake. Once rolled up, set the cake aside to cool at room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours before unrolling and filling with your favorite fillling. If you want to prepare the cake a day ahead you can, just wrap it in plastic wrap once it has cooled (tea towel and all) and place it in your refrigerator overnight. - Once the cake is cool, carefully unroll it from the tea towel, being very careful not to crack the cake. Once it is unrolled (the inside edge may stay curled…just leave it, if you force it flat it WILL crack. Then spread a fairly thin layer of jam, jelly or preserves over the cake. Do not over fill as the filling will squish out of the end when you roll the cake back up. Note* you can add more than one filling if you like. I like strawberry preserves with a little lime curd. Just be sure not to make it too thick but thick enough to “show off” the filling when you cut and serve the cake.
- Once the filling is to your liking, gently roll the cake back up and place it on your serving vessel, serving it plain then chill for 30 minutes then dust it with powdered sugar before slicing, and serve!
- If you want to cover the cake with whipped cream or buttercream you can do that now then chill the cake for at least 30 minutes to help it set. If you are serving it plain then chill for 30 minutes then dust it with powdered sugar before slicing, and serve!
- If you want to have the whipped cream INSIDE the jelly roll cake then I suggest you spread the whipped cream ALMOST to the edges then using the back of a spoon or a spatula, creat 3 horizontal lines scraping out most but not all of the whipped cream, then put your fruit filling in the space. This allows you to roll up the jelly roll without squishing out all of the fillings when you roll it back up.
Tips:
- Want to get fancy? Drizzle some chocolate on top.
- Make it seasonal with pumpkin cake mix and cream cheese filling in the fall!
Tag someone who needs to try this! 🍓✨
#EasyDessert #JellyRollCake #BakingHack #CakeMixMagic
Easy Jelly Roll Cake
This shortcut version is perfect for a quick and easy jelly roll cake.
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 jelly roll pan or quarter sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 Box Cake mix of choice I used Betty Crocker French Vanilla
- 6 lg Eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar, divided
Filling (and / or topping)
- 500 gram heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp vanilla pudding mix *to stabilize the whipped cream, alternatively you can use "whip it" by Dr Oetker
- 1 cup fruit filling of choice compote, jam or fresh fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat6 lg Eggs (room temperature) (room temperature) for 6 minutes on medium (speed 6).
- Once they are done, add the cake mix, water and oil and beat again for 30 seconds to incorporate everything on LOW speed.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again on medium speed for an additional minute scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Spray a 9×15" jelly roll pan (or quarter sheet pan) with a few shots of cooking spray, then lay parchment over and press down and into the corners and up the sides as best as you can.
- Pour the prepared batter into the pan and spread it evenly. If you are using a jelly roll pan and not a quarter sheet pan I suggest removing 1-2 cups of the batter otherwise your cake will be quite thick and possibly crack when rolling.(bake the extra in a small pan if you like).
- Bake for 12 minutes until the center springs back when touched. Watch carefully as ovens vary. Once it's golden test for doneness (10-14 minutes should be the ideal range)
- While it is baking prepare your towel. Lay out a clean, lint free towel on the counter and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
- When the cake is done, remove from the oven and immediately (but carefully) flip it out onto the prepared towel then peel off the parchment paper (carefully)
- quickly roll the cake up in the towel (or parchment paper if you used that instead of a towel). Once the cake is rolled into the towel, set it on a cooling rack seam side down and let it cool to room termperature for 2 hours. Do not refrigerate to cool it faster.
- Prepare your filling(s) while the cake is cooling. You can make a buttercream filling, whipped cream filling, fruit filling or any combination of them you like.
- If you are using whipped cream then I suggest stabilizing it with either "whip it" or by adding 1 Tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix per cup of whipping cream. This will prevent the whipped cream from weeping.
Assemble the Jelly Roll Cake
- Once the cake has cooled completely, slowly unroll it from the towel being careful not to crack it.
- Once it is unrolled (mostly) spread your filling(s) on the cake leaving about 1/2" on each edge, then roll the cake back up and place seam side down on your serving platter or cake plate.
- Cover with whipped cream, buttercream or just powdered sugar as desired. Decorate with chocolate or fruit if you like.
- Store the finished cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Enjoy
Notes
I have used whipped cream for the filling and to ice the jelly roll, you can omit the whipping cream on the outside if you like. I would then just sprinkle confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) over the rolled up cake before serving.
